H.R. 8870

BUILD America 250 Act

Sponsor: Sam Graves

5 cosponsors
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Official summary

Written by the Congressional Research Service.

Building Unrivaled Infrastructure and Long-term Development for America's 250th Act or the BUILD America 250 Act

This bill authorizes federal surface transportation (highway, public transportation, and rail) programs and activities through FY2031. The bill also establishes or modifies Department of Transportation (DOT) programs and policies that are a part of the federal-aid highway, transit, highway safety, motor carrier, research, hazardous materials, and rail programs. 

For example, the bill authorizes appropriations through FY2031 out of the Highway Trust Fund for the federal-aid highway program, the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program, highway safety programs, and bridge programs. The bill also authorizes funding through FY2031 for Amtrak. Current authorization for these programs expires on September 30, 2026.

Among other provisions, the bill

  • establishes a Surface Transportation Accelerator Grant (STAG) discretionary program to fund surface transportation projects in rural, urban, local, and regional communities;
  • requires the Federal Highway Administration to impose a new annual electric vehicle (EV) registration fee, starting at $130 for a covered EV and $35 for a covered plug-in hybrid vehicle;
  • exempts automated driving system technology and equipment from vehicle width requirements;
  • establishes a consolidated state block grant program that allows DOT to allocate a lump sum to participating states to fund public transportation services in rural and urbanized areas;
  • allows state rail safety inspectors to conduct railroad bridge inspections; and
  • establishes a system for state, local, and tribal governments to report safety concerns about the condition of railroad bridges.

Text of the bill

Expand all

I Federal-Aid Highways

A Authorizations and Programs

B Improved Project Delivery and Environmental Streamlining

C Miscellaneous

II Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation

III Public Transportation

A Reforms

B Miscellaneous

C Reorganization and Consolidation of Chapter 53

IV Highway Safety

V Motor Carriers

A General Provisions

B Commercial Motor Vehicle Operators

C Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety

D Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Reform

E Safe Integration of Autonomous Commercial Motor Vehicles

VI Innovation

VII Freight and Multimodal Transportation Programs

A Freight Policy

B Multimodal Policy and Programs

VIII Miscellaneous

IX Sport Fishing and Recreational Boating Safety

X Railroads and Hazardous Materials

A Authorization of Appropriations and Grant Reforms

B Amtrak Reforms

Sec. 10216. GAO examination of international passenger rail

(a) In general. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report that includes the elements described in subsection (b) from a representational sample of international intercity passenger rail carriers to determine governance and financing practices and the potential application of such practices to domestic intercity passenger rail operations.

(b) Elements. The report submitted under subsection (a) shall include—

(1) the number of employees and union representation for each intercity passenger railroad;

(2) the geographic size served by each carrier, and the number of routes operated by each carrier;

(3) the organization of each carrier and the nature and composition of each carrier’s governance;

(4) the source and legal authority of the operation, governance, and financing structures of the international representational samples;

(5) the amount of government investment in intercity passenger rail operations made over the previous 10 years as well as the sources of funding, and projected investment and source of funding over the next 10 years;

(6) the amount of excess fleet or infrastructure capacity to allow for competitive services;

(7) the safety record of each carrier over the last 10 years;

(8) the on-time performance of each carrier; and

(9) governance and financing for intercity passenger rail stations that serve varying customer sizes.

C Passenger Rail Policy

D Rail Safety and Innovation

E Project Delivery

F Hazardous Materials Transportation